Tight packing container



Nov. 28, 1961 F. P. LARsEN 3,010,600

TIGHT PACKING CONTAINER Filed Feb. 1, 1960 United States Patent 3,010,600 TIGHT PACKING CONTAINER Frdric Pierre Larsen, 24 Bis Rue de lAssomption, Paris 16, France Fired Feb. i, 1960, ser. No. 5,754 Claims priority, application France Feb. 27, 1959 Claims. (Cl. 22S- 43) The invention has for its object a tight packing container intended to contain products which most widely are different from each other, as such as, for instance, pulverulent materials and even liquids.

The invention aims to provide such a packing container which can be easily opened and closed, for removals from or additions to its contents, without impairing its tightness.

With this end in view, the packing container according to the invention comprises a hollow body or receptacle, which is fully open at the top and which is capped with an encasing cover slidingly guidable over said body. A movable bearing plate is disposed between the cover and the body and rests on 'the upper edge of the lateral walls of said body. By applying pressure against the plate through at least one aperture provided in the bottom of head of said cover, it is possible to lift said cover. The tightness of said packing being obtained, between the body and the cover, by a precise litting of said body and cover and, between said cover and bearing plate, by at least one membrane, preferably in the form of a bellows or accordion pleated, one rim of which is in contact with the inner face of the head or bottom of the cover while surrounding said aperture or apertures and the other rim of which is in contact with the upper face of said bearing plate.

The invention has also yfor its object embodiments provided with at least one ofthe following features:

a. The single accordion like pleated membrane has generally an annular shape and is disposed in proximity of the edges of the bearing plate.

b. At least one of the rims of the membrane is secured to the part with which it is in Contact.

c. When the membrane is secured neither to the cover nor to the bearing plate, the latter is enclosed between the head or bottom of the cover and an annular rib projecting from the inner face of the side walls of the cover.

d. One of the two opposite surfaces of the body and the cover has an annular bead acting as safety means providing a tivht engagement of said parts.

e. The inner face of the bearing plate is provided with xation means for moisture absorbing cartridges.

f. The xation means for each moisture absorbing cartridge comprise a housing provided in said bearing plate and the conguration and sizes of which enable to push said cartridge into said housing by exerting a slight forcing motion, so that a new cartridge may be easily substituted when the former has been used up.

g. The housing receiving the moisture absorbing cartridge is formed by the inside portion of a hollow boss the outer portion of which is adapted to slide within said aperture of the cover.

iz. The membrane is made of, or covered with, a material exhibiting moisture absorbing properties.

The invention will be better understood when reading the following description and examining the appended drawings which, by way of a non-limitative example, show an embodiment of the invention.

In said drawings:

FIG. l shows a tight packing container according to the invention, in perspective View;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section along the line II-II of FIG. 1, on a larger scale; and

'" 3,010,600 ce Patented Nov. 28, 1961 FIGS. 3 and 4 are views similar to that of FIG. 2, showing two successive phases of the opening of the packing container according to the invention.

As shown in the drawings, the packing container comprises a hollow body or receptacle 1, entirely open at the top and capped with an encasing cover 2 slidingly guidable over said body with a precise lit for ensuring substantial seal. In this embodiment, the body has the general shape of a parallelepiped and the cover has a corresponding shape.

The inner face of the cover 2 is provided with an annular bead or rib 3 situated in the vicinity of the lower edge of the cover and intended to form a tight joint along the lower portion of the body. From the top of the side walls of the body along a substantial portion of their height, said side walls form a shoulder or thinner portion 4 in order to prevent the bead 3 to be in contact with the body, as soon as the cover has been lifted a certain amount, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4.

In the bottom part of the cover 2 is disposed a bearing plate 6 vertically movable within said cover and the sizes of which are such that its peripheral rim may bear against the upper edge of the side walls of the body. The bearing plate 6 is provided with bosses 7 (two in the illustrated example) which may slide, through apertures 8 of corresponding shape provided in the head or bottorn of the cover 2, when the plate is being displaced with respect to the cover.

The cover and the bearing plate are tightly connected by an annular pleated membrane 9 forming as a bellows, one rim of which is secured to the edge of said bearing plate and the other rim of which is secured to the inner face of the head of the cover. Thus, the apertures 3 are completely surrounded by the membrane 9 and there is no possible comunication between the inner face of the bearing plate and the outer face of the head or bottom of the cover.

Thus, when the container is closed, as shown in FIGS. l and 2, there is no communication between the interior of the body 1 and the exterior, as there are eight joints, on the one hand, between the body and the cover along the bead 3, and, on the other hand, between the cover and the bearing plate 6, owing to the presence of the membrane 9. Therefore, the products which are placed Within the container are well protected, particularly against the moisture of the atmospheric air.

To open the container, it sufces to press the cover on the sides, for instance with the palms of the hands, and to lift it from the body 1, while resting, for instance with the thumbs, on the plate 6 through the apertures 8 of the cover; as soon as the bead 3 of the cover leaves the lower portion of the body and reaches the thinned portion of the side walls of said body, as shown in FIG. 3, there is not any appreciable friction between the cover and the body and it is then an easy matter to completely remove the cover, Without continuing to rest against the plate 6 (see FIG. 4). The bearing plate, as being connected with the cover by the bellows membrane 9, is therefore lifted simultaneously with the cover. When the container is closed, the membrane is compressed (FIG. 2).

In a modification, the membrane 9 is secured neither to the cover nor to the bearing plate, and, in another modiiication, said membrane is secured only to one of said two parts, each free rim of the membrane being then simply applied against the corresponding part.

In order, in such cases, to avoid that the assembly cornprising the bearing plate and the membrane may fall when the cover is being removed, the inner face of the side walls of the cover is provided with an annular rib or other projection (shown in FIG. 4) which holds such bearing plate.

As the packing container according to the invention is very tight, it is possible that, at the time when it is being closed, a small amount of moisture from the ambient air becomes caught within said receptacle during such closing operation; now, if the products contained within the container are sensible to moisture, the moisture so caught must be absorbed. To this end, each boss 7 forms, on the inner side of the bearing plate, a recess 11 into which, by exerting a slight forcing motion, a moisture absorbing cartridge 12 of corresponding shape may be pushed. In the illustrated embodiment, the cartridge 12 is provided with lateral lugs 13 the elasticity of which is utilized to hold the cartridge within its housing by friction against the walls of the recess into which it is placed.

Obviously, the invention is not limited to the embodiment described and shown which has been given by way of example; numerous modifications within the reach of the specialist may be brought thereto while remaining within the outline of the invention.

Thus, the packing container according to the invention may have a form entirely different from the form illustrated herein, the inner annular rib of the cover may be dispensed with provided the cover and the body be assembled with a precise fit, the membrane may have another form too, and particularly may comprise several separate elements each surrounding one of the apertures, respectively, and the moisture absorbing cartridges may be secured within the cover in any other manner.

What I claim is:

l. A tight packing container comprising a hollow body fully open at the top and having a bottom and upstanding lateral walls, an encasing cover slidingly guidable over said body with a precise t for ensuring substantial seal, a bearing plate freely movable in said cover and adapted to rest on the upper edge of the lateral walls of said body, at least one aperture through the top of said cover, for applying a pressure therethrough against said bearing plate, in order to lift said cover with respect to said body, and a tubular thin pliable bellows-like membrane, one rim of which is adhering to the inner face of said cover while surrounding said aperture and the other rim of which is adhering to the upper face of said bearing plate, in order to provide a seal between said cover and said bearing plate.

2. A container according to claim l, wherein said bellows-like membrane is disposed in proximity of the edges of the bearing plate.

3. A container according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the rims of the membrane is secured to the part that it engages.

4. A container according to claim l, wherein the bearing plate isentrapped between the top of the cover and an annular rib projecting inwardly from the inner vface of the Side Walls of .the cover.-

5. A container according to claim 1, wherein one of the two mating surfaces of the body and the cover has an annular bead acting as a safety sealing means providing a tight engagement of said body and said cover.

6. A container according to claim 5, wherein the inner face of the bearing plate is provided with iiXation means for moisture absorbing cartridges.

7. A container according to claim 6, wherein the iiXation means for each moisture absorbing cartridge comprise a recess provided in said bearing plate and the configuration and sizes of which enable to push home said cartridge into said recess by exerting a slight forcing motion, so that a new cartridge may be easily substituted when the former has been used up.

8. A container according to claim 7, wherein the recess receiving the moisture absorbing cartridge is lformed by the inner face of a hollow boss the outer portion of which is adapted to slide within said aperture of the cover.

9. A tight packing container comprising a body having a bottom and upstanding side walls, a cover complementary to said body having a top with an opening therein and side walls extending downwardly in juxtaposition to said body walls, said body and said cover having complementary side walls portion spaced for engagement by pressure contact when said cover is fully closed over said body, a bearing plate disposed between said cover and said body and overlying the top edges of said body side wallsV and including a portion disposed in alignment with the opening in the top of said cover, and a collapsible bellows-like annular member having a top edge in sealing engagement with said cover member and a bottom edge in sealing engagement with said bearing plate along the marginal edge thereof to provide a sealing connection between said bearing plate and said cover and to provide a pressure sealing engagement Vbetween said bearing plate and the top edges of said body upon compression of said bellows-like member by said cover over said bearing plate.

l0. A tight packing container according to claim 9, wherein said bearing plate includes a raised portion which extends upwardly through the opening in the top of said cover when said cover is fully closed over said body and when said bellows is collapsed between said cover and said bearing plate.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,147,139 Bigman et al. l Feb. 14, 1939 2,819,813 Larsen Jan. 14, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 595,332 France July 13, 1925 606,558 Great Britain a- Aug. 17, 1948 947,882 France Jan. 17, 1949 

